Liverpool have confirmed that Martin Kelly has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

The defender tweeted on Monday morning that he did not expect to play again before the end of the year, and that he would be having a scan later in the day to clarify the extent of the damage to the knee which he twisted badly in his team's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

The club confirmed on Monday afternoon that Kelly was "likely to be out of action for a significant period of time" after rupturing his ACL, and that reconstructive surgery was now required.

Further updates on Daniel Agger and Fabio Borini, who were both also injured in the game at Anfield over the weekend, brought more bad news for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Agger has suffered what the club termed "a significant bone bruise to the left knee" and will require further tests to determine how long he will be out of action. On the plus side for the Dane he did not sustain any ligament damage.

Borini's right ankle turned up a negative X-ray for a fracture but due to significant swelling Liverpool's medical staff will have to wait until Tuesday to conduct an MRI scan, after which they will know the true extent of his injury and be able to calculate a return date.